Introduction and Forward

The book of Remembrance for the Jewish Community of Yurburg is
presented with great respect for the survivors of the community and
for their children and grandchildren to the last generation.

The Book of Remembrance is not a historical documentary of the
Jewish people in Yurburg, but a collection of authentic testimonies
of the survivors of this special community, which arose from the
smoke of the Holocaust. The experiences and impressions of the life
of the community have been kept alive in the memory of the writers
since their youth, and constitute the nucleus of the book.

None of the authors, once residents of Yurburg, are professional
writers, yet in their own styles and best individual efforts they
have presented personal impressions of the modest lives of their
fathers in the community's time of prosperity. Only very few managed
to escape from the snare of the Nazis, and from these survivors we
learned of the desperate position, and the despair brought on by the
hopelessness of their situation, as hell's torment opened before
their eyes.

The story of Yurburg is striking, yet very sad. For more than
three months of cold- blooded murder, the sadistic beasts annihilated
the community, cutting it back to the very roots. These visual
memories are horrifying. This Jewish community, hundreds of years
old, was blotted out by demonic cruelty under the skies of Lithuania.
The "civilized" world calmly watched and condoned this horrible
persecution, not only by not rising against, not crying out against
and not protesting against it, but added to the crime, pouring salt
on the wound by actually giving assistance to the murderers. The
burden of shame on the whole world and on the neighbouring
Christian-Lithuanians will last forever because of their hypocrisy
and lack of conscience.

The frightening horror of Holocaust shakes every cord of heart and
soul. As long as the earth stands it will not cease telling the story
of these terrible deeds. How women and children were taken to death
chambers ... how numerous groups of men died in mass graves in the
old Jewish cemetery . . . how aged, weak and infirm people were
buried anonymously somewhere between Yurburg and Rassen. Why ? Why ?
Why ? Women were beaten, mothers humiliated, they and their innocent
children on their last journey to the Schwentshani forest, were shot
to death while their babies wept in their arms, and then were dumped
into their last resting places ... These terrible Holocaust stories
bring hatred to the eyes of the survivors of the community and do not
give peace to their souls.

In the Book of Remembrance the only personal testimony of the days
of the Holocaust is that of a young woman and a man, who escaped from
the grip of these human scum, and they tell us their awful story. A
story of hell, is written in the book. >From the history of these
two survivors we learn of the people of the community, who were
cruelly persecuted by these savage people.

We will remember the terrible stories of our beloved ones forever
and revere the memory of these unfortunates as long as their
descendants live. How desperately the unfortunate mother of the
escaped girl cried out in the last moments of her life: "Revenge,
mein Tochter, revenge! But is revenge possible?" Our poet Haim
Nachman Bialik said:

"Revenge like that, revenge for the blood of a little
child satan has not yet created!

We will not forget, will remember the victims of the Nazi German
murderers and their Lithuanian helpers. The blood of our beloved ones
cries out from the earth and demands remembrance forever.

With thanks and appreciation we thus acknowledge the help of our
dear friends who kindly made possible the publishing of the Book of
Remembrance - and most of all that of our brother and beloved friend
Shlomo (Sol) Goldstein, resident of Yurburg, a survivor of the
Holocaust and only survivor of his family, who lives in the U. S. A.,
but whose heart and soul are in Zion. His great contribution made
this publication possible.

It is our pleasure to express our thanks to Dr Alexander Ullman, a
true Zionist and friend of Israel, the director of the Rochester
Hospital, the husband of Feia (Feigele) - Faye Schrage Ullman, the
daughter of Hannah Feinberg-Shraga (Helen Schrage) from Yurburg, who
contributed handsomely toward the publication of the Book of
Remembrance.

Also we want to thank former residents of Yurburg in the U. S. A.,
especially Diana (Daniella) from the Berezanar family, and her
husband Morton Tobin for their contribution toward the publication of
the book.

And finally our dear friends of The Society of Yurburg in Israel
especially our friend Shoshanah Pullerewich - who together helped
with the material of the Book of Remembrance, thus enabling it to be
published for our community - the community of Yurburg, not
forgotten.

Shimon Schimonov (Schim'onov)Chairman of the Society of Yurburg

Zevulun PoranEditor of the book

[Pages 7-8]

The Book of Remembrance, is presented to its readers, by the
community of Yurburg, in Israel and abroad, and contains a wide range
of testimonies describing the city and its surroundings, its family
homes, its Jewish citizens, its important people and images, their
material and spiritual culture, their way of life and their everyday
experiences.

Therefore, in order to help the reader get a clear picture of the
book, and a better understanding of the main events in it, we thought
it right to divide the book into seven chapters or subjects ; each
chapter emphasizes part of the image and life of the community. All
the chapters together compliment one another and give a complete
picture of the city and its Jewish community.

THE FIRST CHAPTER - the city and its environment on the
shores of the Neiman river - is made up of articles and written
records of the city of Yurburg, its history, its pastoral view and
the life of its Jewish residents there. Within the text, the reader
feels the great love of those who were raised in the city, for the
countryside, for the exceptionally beautiful views - the forests, the
rivers, the parks, the bridges and particularly the great river
Neiman, which was the source of life and the channel which linked the
residents of the city with the rest of Lithuania. Also the city
itself - Kovna Street, and the busy trade centre.

THE SECOND CHAPTER - families in Yurburg - contains
exciting small articles of the authors' families. We look into the
intimacy of family life, and sense the security and happiness of the
individual. From this we learn of the family, of their relationship
toward one another, of their ordinary lives during weekdays, and
particularly of the Sabbath and holidays. Within the frame of the
family, destinies were sometimes decided - days of happiness and joy
of life merge with the days of suffering and mourning. All within the
family ...

THE THIRD CHAPTER - dignitaries and personalities - offers
some interesting descriptions of important people, residents of
Yurburg, whose work was influential in the community. A great number
of them established the community, everyone according to his ability
working for its good. Included were rabbis, writers, doctors,
philanthropists, teachers, artists and others. They deserve that we
remember their work. We are very sorry that this list is not
complete. The one presented in the book was only found with great
difficulty. All those others who would have been able to tell about
the work of the notable people and the visionaries of the community,
have passed away.

THE FOURTH CHAPTER - culture and the formation of the
community - expresses the spiritual life of the Jews, "for man does
not live by bread alone . . . " The struggle of the physical
existence does not preclude the concern for the spiritual life.
Education and the passing on of experience was a prime concern of the
community. Synagogues were open for prayer and for learning the
Torah. Public life was active and colourful, and many were
accomplished in the cultural arts.

IN THE FIFTH CHAPTER - the youth and their activity in
Yurburg pride in the youth of the community is expressed. Sports and
scouting played an important role in the young people's lives. The
Zionist atmosphere had a great influence in establishing the image of
the young generation, so much so that the majority of them joined the
Pioneer Youth movements. The aspiration of going on to the pioneer
training programme in order to receive the Certificate of Aliyah to
Israel was the driving force of the young generation. Love for Eretz
Israel was great and the Zionist ideal occupied the mind of almost
every member of the community.

THE SIXTH CHAPTER - destruction of the Jewish Yurburg - is
an hair raising chapter of the great tragedy which took place in the
last days of the Jewish Yurburg. As the Nazi commandos broke through
to Yurburg, the sun went down on the community. During three months
of great horror all Jews of Yurburg were viciously persecuted and
most of them killed. Out of the whole wonderful community, only one
or two managed to survive. The Jews of Yurburg were the first to be
annihilated because they lived near the German border. The glory of
men's lives were trodden into the dust under the boots of the
murderous Nazi barbarians and their Lithuanian helpers, who lacked
human decency and conscience. The blood which was spilled in the
streets of the city and in the surrounding forests, the blood of
these tortured and violated people, cries out to us -

"Remember your brothers and friends, remember them ! . . .
"

THE SEVENTH AND LAST CHAPTER of the book - survivors of
Yurburg perpetuate their community - tells of all that was left of
the people, those who survived this bell, of the escape to Israel and
abroad, and of those who are now fulfilling the will of those holy
souls, through the documentation of their heritage and the story of
their disaster told to future generations. The survivors of Yurburg,
who found deliverance in our country, remember also that their
fathers prayed and awaited redemption, full of faith and hope, but
did not see it. Therefore, in order to perpetuate their memory, the
Yurburg survivors established memorials in the land of their dreams,
and they are :

In the holocaust Museum which is on Mount Zion in Jerusalem we
printed on the memory board the atrocities which the Nazi attackers
did to our community. We also planted a memorial forest for the
members of our community in the area of Modi'in, a forest which is a
living monument forever ; and there in the shade of the trees fathers
will tell their sons the story of calamity, of torture, of the days
of slaughter and the destruction of the community of Yurburg.

May the precious memory of our loved ones remain in our
hearts forever.

At the conclusion of this book, it is my pleasure to thank
Professor Dov Levin, who contributed from his expert knowledge of the
Holocaust and provided me with important archival material.

My appreciation goes to my dear wife Zipporah who has faithfully
assisted me during all the drafts and revisions of this book.

Zevulun Poran
The Editor

Translated by Surko

[Pages 9-10]

The Community of Yurburg Among Lithuanian Jewry - Common
and Unique Features

by Professor Dov Levin

Translated by Irene Emodi, Tel Aviv

When Lithuania became independent, at the end of World War I,
there were about 160,000 Jews in "Kovnian Lithuania" without the
Vilna region which was conquered by the Poles, in over 200
settlements, including the town of Yurburg, to which this book is
dedicated. When we compare the facts in this book with those of the
other communities of Lithuania, particularly about ten of them which
were of similar size (about 2000 people), Yurburg stands out mainly
in the economic, cultural and moral sphere. This town was an
important commercial and communications center between East (Russia
and Lithuania) and West (Germany and England) due to the ethnic
variety of its inhabitants and mainly due to its location on the
banks of the Neiman River and its proximity to East Prussia.
Moreover, German culture and universal, secular values increasingly
left their mark on the town. All these had a strong influence on the
local Jews and on their quality of life; many of them made a living
in transport, wholesale trade, export, customs clearance etc.

Although the Yurburg community was one of the earliest communities
in Lithuania (it already belonged to "The Lithuanian State Committee"
via the Kedainai region) and its old synagogue was world- famous, its
glory was not in the orthodox-religious realm. Till this very day
those who come from Yurburg are proud of the fact that Avraham Mapu
made this his home and the source of his literary inspirations. In
any case, the secular movement (Tnu'at Hahaskalah) was stronger here
than in most other communities nearby. Although many people behaved
in the traditional manner, at least outwardly, secularization was
apparently much stronger here than in the neighboring towns of the
Zamot (Zamaite) region.

This trend flourished inter alia in the field of education: from
setting up study classes for the children of Israel on behalf of the
Czarist Russian Government to the existence of a Hebrew Gymnasium in
the name of Herzl - such as were to be found only in about a dozen
places in all of Lithuania!

Eventually Yurburg also became famous for the scope and impact of
its Zionist activity. An impressive example of the national-Hebrew
local color may be found in the name of one of the two parks in town
commonly called "Tel Aviv". Nevertheless, the Yurburg community
formed an integral part of the Jewish community of Lithuania and a
number of phenomena and characteristics of the other communities were
to be found here too. This refers inter alia to the ongoing trend in
recent generations of a quantitative reduction of the Jewish
population due to emigration to overseas countries, the effects of
World War I and the move to large cities, as well as emigration to
Israel, and other reasons. As in other parts of Lithuania, in the
Jewish "Golden Age" a modern Jewish community was set up in Yurburg
in the early twenties, backed by the Government via the "Ministry of
Jewish Affairs" at Kovna. A few years later, when the fascist regime
came to power in Lithuania in 1926, there was a strong regression in
the autonomic status of the Jewish minority and a substantial number
of the national institutions -including the communities - were
dismantled. At the same time restrictions against Jews were increased
all over Lithuania, including Yurburg, from suppression of Jewish
trade (the reason for the liquidation of the Jewish trade company
"Export Handel") to bloody outbursts and burning of Jewish property
(Feinberg station in 1940).

During the Nazi occupation the German Police were responsible for
the Jews of Yurburg, yet for several weeks the local Lithuanian
tormented their Jewish neighbors like beasts, and some of them even
took part in murdering them. Except for a few exceptional cases, the
Lithuanian farmers in the area handed over the Jews who hid with them
for money or the likes.

This is the reason why the few survivors from this town consist
mainly of a few Jews who managed to flee to Russia or other places
from where they joined the Lithuanian division of the Red Army or the
Partisans.

Till today there are many Lithuanian families who live in the
homes of their Jewish neighbors and hold their properties under the
motto " have you killed and also taken possession?" Furthermore, to
the extent that descendants of the victims are still to be found,
they too have to support the newly independent Lithuania, but
evidently do not admit the part the Lithuanian played in the murder
and robbery of their Jewish neighbors.

The bitter destiny of all the Jews of Lithuania was shared by the
community of Yurburg surveyed in this Book of Remembrance - one of
many such books published in Israel about the Lithuanian communities
- which were destroyed and are no longer. This book is important not
only as documentation, remembrance and perpetuation, but also for the
history of the Jews of Lithuania. We are grateful for this and
express our thanks to the experienced editor, who used his
professional knowledge together with his warm feelings for his town.
We also wish to thank the devoted friends of the Society of Emigrants
from Yurburg and its Chairman, who worked hard to publish this book,
contributing in mind and matter.

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